Taylor Swift’s Former Classmate Explains Why ‘Most People Hated Her’ During High School

Given the success of her recent Eras Tour and her new movie release, there is no denying that Taylor Swift has an adoring fanbase. The mega pop-star had 72,000 spectators singing along with her at every concert, racking up $13 million in ticket sales per show. Additonally, the movie “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” generated $93 million domestically in the box office opening weekend, and $31 million overseas.

However, a former classmate of the singer has revealed that most of the student body who attended high school with her were not fans of Swift before she got her big break.

In a TikTok video, Jessica McLane, who grew up in the same town as Swift and attended high school with her, claims that most of her classmates believed Swift’s songs were petty. McLane reveals that although she was classmates with Swift, she doesn’t know much about the singer or her music, especially growing up.

“I was a church kid, I didn’t really listen to Taylor Swift, kinda just got into Taylor Swift, so give me some grace,” she says.

In 2006, McLane was a freshman in high school and Swift was a junior. Her hit song “Teardrops on my Guitar” was released that summer. “Obviously [Swift] got really big, and that’s the year that she left school and was homeschooled,” McLane says.

However, after the song’s release and Swift’s departure from public school, her classmates did not take a liking to her. “Something you need to know about Henderson High School, when she first started becoming super successful, most people hated her,” McLane shares. “Keep in mind, these are her peers, these aren’t just some random people on the Internet.”

“She’s literally, 16 or 17 leaving school to pursue a career that people are telling her that she could never have.”

Classmates allegedly didn’t like how Taylor Swift sang about her exes.

A significant reason Swift’s classmates didn’t like her was that her lyrics were petty and portrayed those she dated that attended high school with her in a negative light. “The guys she was writing songs about, they were still in school. And now they have a hit song about them talking about what a s—ty boyfriend they are,” McLane says.

“There are a lot of rumors going around about how she got her start in the first place … the fact remains is that there were not a lot of people in high school who had nice things to say about her.”

McLane reveals that in 2009 when she was a senior in high school, her class was invited by Swift to the 2009 CMA Awards, where she was performing her song “Fifteen.”

“We were all really excited, who gets invited by Taylor Swift to the CMAs? That’s really cool,” McLane says. However, she believed it was “very random” of Swift to invite her class, given most of her classmates disliked her.

She points out that 2009 is the year that Swift “killed the game” and was the recipient of numerous music awards, including Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Music Video of the Year. “Her performance was incredible,” McLane says.

It was only this year when Swift announced that she was releasing her album “Midnights” on Kim Kardashian’s birthday — with whom she has feuded before — that McLane said she realized that there was a petty side to the singer and that everything she did was intentional. “She invited us to the CMAs to say [explative] you,” McLane shares. “And we deserved it.”

“So to Taylor, touche, that was a good one.”

Fans defended Taylor Swift in the comments.

“As she should! Stay petty girl,” one user wrote. “No better revenge than success,” someone pointed out.

“People always hate on people doing big things because they’re mad it’s not them. They wanna do big things? Then do it!!” another fan shared.

McLane posted a follow-up video explaining that jealousy was also a major factor as to why many people did not like her.

“The 16- and 17-year-olds that were trying to have a career in music at Hendersonville were playing downtown or playing at the local coffee shop not winning awards,” McLane says. “And it’s not that these people weren’t talented it’s just that most people don’t make it.”

McLane added that people also liked to spread the occasional rumor that Swift was “mean” and “unpleasant” as a result of their jealousy.

Taylor Swift’s high school experience was clearly far from easy, and many of us can unfortunately relate.

In an interview with In Style Magazine, Swift revealed that her classmates isolated her because they believed that was “weird” and “different.” To help her cope with her feelings of lonliness, Swift turned to music writing.

“For me, the only way to condense them down into one thing is to write a three-and-a-half minute song about it,” she shared. Swift adds that songwriting became her “therapy” since she had no friends to talk to in high school.

The singer is not alone in her unfavorable views toward her high school experience. According to a survey conducted by StopBullying, 19% of high school students across the country report being bullied and feeling alienated from their peers.

While it may feel as if the difficulty and seclusion will last for a lifetime, it does not, and Swift is the perfect example. The once bullied and lonely high school student is now one of the highest-grossing stars in the world. And all those other girls who gave her a hard time are ever gonna be is mean!

Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.